World’s No. 1 Rory McIlroy has thumbed his nose at the upstart Premier Golf League.
World’s No. 2, Jon Rahm and No. 3 Brooks Koepka have joined him.
Both threw their caps in the ring with the PGA Tour last week at the one-round-and-done Players Championship.
“I am out of the PGL. I’m going with the PGA Tour,” is what Koepka said. “I have a hard time believing golf should be about just 48 players.”
The proposed Premier League was hoping to lure the big name players and that doesn’t look like it will happen.
“I think what I’m going to do is focus on just the PGA Tour,” Rahm said. “At the end of the day I’m a competitor. I’m a PGA Tour member, and I’m going to stay that way.”
Koepka basically took his stance and supported the lesser name players, those outside the top 50 in the world rankings.
“I get that the stars are what people come to see,” Koepka said. “But these guys who we see win, who have been grinding for 10 or 15 years, that’s what makes the cool stories. I’d have a hard time looking at guys and putting them out of a job.”
Apparently the PGA Tour and the world of golf have new voices.
While those three huge names have spoken up, quickly, the old guard hasn’t said anything.
Phil Mickelson spoke some rubbish about how it “looked interesting.” Mickelson has yet to take a stance in favor of the PGA Tour, the organization that has overlooked a lot of questionable behavior by Mickelson (see Bill Walters, see insider trader, Dean Foods).
As for Woods, one would think there’s no way he’d go for it. It would require an extraordinary amount of travel and the league would be telling Tiger when and where he plays.
And, as we all know, no one can tell Tiger where and when to show up.
So yes, the Premier Golf League isn’t Dead On Arrival.
It appears to be on its death bed before that.
2 Comments
baxter cepeda
Personally, I think the old guys are the smart ones here. Silence is a good thing.
The PGL is giving players Power with a huge negotiating tool. This could Be a time top players take advantage of the interest to establish some new arrangement with the tour, such as some pay for travel and stuff.
I’m surprised the tour still get away with no appearance fees for anyone, no travel assistance, no charter from one event to the next even thou there are some events that do it; also still treat caddies as second class even thou many are looked at as teammates or even mentors to the players.
But yea The biggest concern for players with the PGL is it only feeds 48 of them. Any player could
Fall off that list…what do they do then?
It’s no surprise this Thing is dead already, but it’s clear to me tour players as a whole could learn from the old guard that you never know what silence may get you and contemporaries.
Rory is much appreciated but imo he needs to be careful he does not let the media make him talk too much. Everyone wants to know what number 1 thinks but being the best player in the world makes no one all knowing or immune to exhaustion.
As Mr Buffett might say, Focus on what you do well Rory.
Tom Edrington
I like how the younger guys have taken a stance….GOOD FOR THEM, the Premier League is simply nonsense, from the start.